Year 3 Semester 1 > AM Midterm I > Flashcards

AM Midterm I Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Clever Hans effect?

A

-Unintentional influence of a questioner or observer’s subtle, non-verbal cues on a subject’s behavior, leading the subject to produce a desired response that doesn’t stem from genuine understanding or ability
-Animal senses what someone wants them to do even if the human is not deliberately giving them signals

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2
Q

What does the clever hans effect say about animal perception and learning?

A

-Reveals that animals, particularly in human-animal interactions, are highly adept at perceiving and reacting to subtle, unconscious human cues, rather than possessing advanced cognitive abilities
-Animals can be very perceptive and can learn by being attentive

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3
Q

What are some ways to mitigate the clever hans effect in studies of animal behavior?

A

Design experiments using blinded protocols where observers don’t know the hypothesis or desired outcome

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4
Q

What is Lloyd Morgan’s canon?

A

-In no case may we interpret an action as the outcome of the exercise of a higher mental faculty, if it can be interpreted as the exercise of one which stands lower in the psychological scale
-A principle in comparative psychology stating an animal’s behavior should not be explained by higher psychological processes if a simpler, lower-level process can adequately account for it
-We should prefer explanations of behavior based on the simplest mechanism

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5
Q

How does Lloyd Morgan’s canon relate to evolution and the phylogenetic tree?

A

-Provides a principle for interpreting animal behavior in light of evolutionary theory
-Use simpler and more general processes shared by many animals through evolution (vs. higher processes that evolved later due to adaptations)

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6
Q

What are some examples of “domain-general” processes that have been discussed so far?

A

Perception, memory, learning

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7
Q

How would Lloyd Morgan have criticized claims about the abilities of Clever Hans

A

Would look at the more complex process outside of the horse observing the human

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8
Q

What is habituation?

A

-An animal learns to ignore a repetitive, non-threatening stimulus after repeated exposure, resulting in a decrease in its response to that stimulus
-Learning stops because there is no surprise

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9
Q

What are examples of habituation?

A

-Adjusting to background noise
-Rattling a toy in a baby’s face

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10
Q

How can habituation be used to study perception?

A

Observe how attention decreases to a repeated stimulus and then increase to a novel one (dishabituation)

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11
Q

What is generalization?

A

A learned response to a specific stimulus or situation is applied to new, similar stimuli or situations

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12
Q

What are examples of generalization?

A

-Dog conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell also salivates at the sound of a doorbell or car horn
-Child praised for cleaning bedroom generalizes behavior into cleaning other parts of the house

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13
Q

How is learning defined?

A

Process by which an activity orginated or is changed through reacting to an encountered situation, provided that the characteristics of the change in activity cannot be explained on the basis of native response tendencies, maturation or temporary states of the organism

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14
Q

What kinds of learning have we considered?

A

Classical conditioning and operant conditioning

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15
Q

What are examples of changes in behavior that are not due to learning?

A

Lessened responses due to native response tendencies, reflexes (blinking), maturation or temporary states (drugs, hunger, fatigue)

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16
Q

What are components of classical/Pavlovian conditioning?

A

Conditioned stimulus, conditioned response, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response

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17
Q

What is an example of classical conditioning?

A

-Dog salivating experiment
-US- dog food
-UR- salivation
-CS- white lab coat
-CR- salivation

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18
Q

What is CS?

A

-Conditioned stimulus
-Stimulus that did not already produce the unconditioned response

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19
Q

What is CS?

A

-Conditioned stimulus
-Stimulus that did not already produce the unconditioned response

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20
Q

What is CR?

A

-Conditioned response
-Response to the conditioned stimulus

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21
Q

What is US?

A

-Unconditioned stimulus
-A stimulus that already produces a response

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22
Q

What is UR?

A

-Unconditioned response
-The response to the stimulus, often a reflex or biologically predisposed reaction

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23
Q

What conditions are necessary for classical/ pavlovian conditioning to occur?

A

-In classical conditioning there is a change in behavior
-At least two stimuli (US and CS)
-Contiguous in time
-US is contingent on CS
-US is unexpected/ surprising
-Subject attends to CS

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24
Q

What is the blocking effect?

A

-Phenomenon in classical conditioning where prior learning to a stimulus (CS1) prevents or “blocks” the conditioning of a new, redundant stimulus (CS2) that is paired with CS1 and an unconditioned stimulus (US)
-Sequential competition
-Animals pre-trained to associate CS1 with the US do not learn a compound of CS1 and CS2

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25
How does blocking indicate that contiguity alone is not sufficient for Pavlovian conditioning?
Even when two stimuli (CS) are consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus, the organism will not learn an association with the second, newer stimulus if the first stimulus already predicts the US
26
What are the similarities with the S-R and CS-US models of pavlovian conditioning?
Both recognize that repeated pairing of a stimulus and a response-eliciting event leads to a new learned association
27
What are the differences with the S-R and CS-US models of pavlovian conditioning?
-S-R model proposes pavlovian conditioning creates a direct association between the CS and the CR, making the CS elicit the CR automatically -CS-US model suggests the CS forms an association with the internal representation of the US, and this learned CS-US connection that leads to the CR, allowing the strength of the CR to depend on the value of the US
28
How does US devaluation test the S-R and CS-US models of pavlovian conditioning?
-US devaluation tests pavlovian models by reducing the value of the US after conditioning has occurred, then observing if the Cr to the CS decreases
29
What are the components of instrumental/operant conditioning?
-Reinforcement (increases behavior) -Punishment (decreases behavior)
30
How does operant conditioning differ from pavlovian conditioning?
-Focuses on voluntary behaviors and their consequences -Pavlovian conditioning focuses on involuntary, reflexive behaviors and the association of stimuli
31
What conditions are necessary for instrumental learning to occur?
Contiguity and contingency
32
What is the Rescorla-Wagner model?
-Mathematical model of classical conditioning that explains associative learning as the accumulation of "associatie strength" between a CS and a US -Model to explain amount of learning that occurs on each trial of pavlovian learning
33
What is V in the Rescorla-Wagner model?
-Predictive value of a CS -Associative strength between CS and US
34
How do the V values in the Rescorla-Wagner model from individual stimuli combine when multiple stimuli are presented in a trial?
Added together
35
What is λ in the Rescorla-Wagner model?
-What actually happened -Strength of the US
36
What effect does changing λ's value in the Rescorla-Wagner model have on the shape of the learning curve?
Changes the asymptote
37
How could you increase or decrease λ in the Rescorla-Wagner model in an experiment?
Change the strength/ degree of the US
38
What is α in the Rescorla-Wagner model?
The salience/ importance of the CS
39
What effect does changing α's value in the Rescorla-Wagner model have on the shape of the learning curve?
-Higher a results in a steeper, faster learning curve that reaches the asymptote more quickly -Lower a produces a shallower, slower learning curve
40
How could you increase or decrease α in the Rescorla-Wagner model in an experiment?
-Increase or decrease learning rate by manipulating the salience of the US or by varying the frequency of intertrial intervals -More salient US leads to a higher a
41
In the Rescorla-Wagner model, what do you change when the US is absent?
λ=0
42
In the Rescorla-Wagner model, what do you change when more than one stimulus is present?
Sum the V of both stimuli
43
What are overshadowing experiments?
-Two different stimuli are being learned at the same time and some stimuli are more salient than others -One stimuli grabs the attention of the subject more -Concurrent competition -Animals trained on a compound of CS1 and CS2 form weaker associations
44
What is protection from extinction experiments?
-If CS is presented without US but accompanied by well established CT- stimulus that predicts absence of US V will NOT decrease in size -(λ-∑V) = 0 - (1 + -1) = 0 - 0 = 0 -Absence of surprise, so no learning so Vs do not change -Study how the persistence of a conditioned response can be maintained by specific stimuli, even during non-reinforced trails designed to weaken the association
45
How is extinction similar to acquisition?
-Both are core processes of associative learning, such as classical and operant conditioning where learned associations change in strength over time through interaction with stimuli and consequences
46
How is extinction different from acquisition?
-Acquisition is the initial process of learning a new behavior or association, where a response strengthens and becomes established -Extinction is the opposite process, where a previously learned behavior or association gradually decreases and weakens until it's eliminated
47
Is extinction un-learning?
-No, formation of a new, inhibitory memory that suppresses the original association -While the original learned behavior may decrease or disappear, the memory trace for it isn't erased
48
How are the renewal effect and spontaneous recovery explained by inhibitory associations?
Propose that extinction creates a new inhibitory memory or safety signal, which weakens over time or when its context changes
49
What is between-subject experimental design?
-Involves different, in-dependent groups of participants for each experimental condition or treatment -Different subjects in different conditions
50
What is within-subject experimental design?
-Each participant is exposed to every experiment condition or treatment level of the independent variable -Same subjects in different conditions
51
What is behavior?
-A consistent action or response -Implies existence of an underlying unobservable process that generates the behavior -May be responses to stimuli or directed towards goals
52
What is ethology?
-study of animal behavior in natural environment -Interest in natural history -Complex behaviors (champion species) -Natural environments/ field work -A focus on instinct and evolution
53
What are Nikolaas Tinbergen's four questions?
1. How does the behavior benefit the animal's fitness? (current function) 2. How did the behavior evolve? (phylogeny) 3. What stimuli and physiological mechanisms cause the behavior to be performed? (mechanism) 4. How did the behavior develop during the lifetimes of the individual? (ontogeny)
54
What is comparative psychology/behaviorism?
-Interest in human cognitive processes -Simple behaviors (model organisms) -Controlled environments (lab work) -Focus on learning -B.F. Skinner
55
What is behavioral ecology?
-Studies the evolutionary basis of animal behaviors in response to their environment -How behaviors affects an animal's fitness
56
What are cognition compromises and some examples?
-Many unobservable internal processes -Perception, attention, memory, learning, planning
57
What characteristics does a hypothesis need to have?
Causal, plausible, testable
58
What is sensation?
-How physical energy gets turned into information -Can be studied through physics and biology
59
What is attention?
What information gets used
60
Why is perception not the same as reality?
-Every species processes sensory information in terms of what is needs -Surroundings are distinct from environment and inner representation -Physical objects are perceived in terms of what they can do for the animal
61
What do all sensory systems have common?
-Transform physical energy into information -Specific for one kind of energy, over a limited range -Extract information about quality and intensity
62
What can neurophysiology tell us?
If a stimulus is capable of being perceived
63
What does psychophysics examine?
How physical difference relate to perceptual differences
64
What is detectability?
How intense a stimulus must be to be perceived
65
What is discriminability?
What difference in magnitude is needed to discriminate two stimuli?
66
What is contrast (psychophysics)?
-Intensity is perceived in relative terms, also applies to stimulus qualities -Quantity and quality are perceived in relative terms
67
What is proportionality (psychophysics)?
-Perception of intensity difference scales geometrically (Weber's law) -Just noticeable difference/stimulus intensity, triangle I/ I = K
68
What is generalization (psychophysics)?
Responses fall off gradually as the stimulus changes
69
What is habituation (psychophysics)?
Perceived intensity decreases with repetition
70
What is dishabituation (psychophysics)?
Other stimuli restore strength of original stimulus
71
What is attention (psychophysics)?
Limited capacity for processing sensory input
72
What is the difference between conjunctive and simple searches?
Conjunctive searches take longer than simple searches
73
What is priming (psychophysics)?
Search performance improves when the target is expected
74
What are common ways to study perceptually guided behavior?
-Innate responses to stimuli -Habituation -Conditioning
75
What is perception?
-Perception is unobservable, can only infer what an animal is perceiving from its behavior -Animals respond differently to different stimuli (Ex. Sticklebacks attack other males but court females)
76
What are innate responses?
-Innate responses are NOT learned -The stimuli that trigger them (releasing stimulus) are also innate -Innate responses can still habituate
77
What are responses other than innate responses?
-Other responses only emerge through learning "conditioning" -Can only learn what you perceive -Learning changes what you perceive -Generalization depends on perception (and therefore learning)
78
What is the generalization gradient?
-Generalization gradient measures response strength along a stimulus continuum -Broader gradient= more generalization -Narrower gradient= more discrimination
79
What are the questions about learning?
-What are the behavioral outcomes? -What conditions are necessary for it? -What are the contents of learning?
80
Learning: What are the behavioral outcomes?
Reduced startle or orientation responses
81
Learning: What conditions are necessary for it?
-Repeated presentation of the same stimulus -Depends on intensity, duration, intervals between stimuli, presence of intervening stimuli
82
Learning: What are the contents of learning?
-What features of the stimulus are remembered? -Test for generalization
83
What is classical conditioning?
-Learning about predictive relationships between stimuli
84
How do stimuli have different natural valence?
-Unconditioned stimulus is a naturally salient stimulus -Conditioned stimulus is an initially neutral stimulus
85
As learning occurs how does the animal's response change?
-Unconditioned response is the natural response to the US -Conditioned response is the learned response to the CS
86
What happens when the association is a new reflex?
-Stimuli produce responses -Learning is a new connection between the CS and the response
87
What happens when the association is a predictive model?
-Stimuli activate "representations" in the mind -Representations can activate response -Representations can activate each other
88
What is the floor effect?
Performance cannot go below some value
89
What is random control?
Equal probability of CS with US
90
What are the different kinds of controls?
-Control is a baseline for comparison -Positive is expected to show an effect -Negative is expected to show no effect
91
What makes a good control?
As similar as possible to the experimental group/condition
92
What is surprise?
Associative learning only occurs if the US is unexpected
93
What is latent inhibition?
Habituate experimental animals to CS, then try to train CS -> US
94
What conditions cause associations to be lost?
-Extinction- the loss of a conditioned response when CS no longer predicts US -Animals are always updating their associations based on contiguity, contingency, surprise, etc.
95
What are positive and negative contingencies?
-Positive- CS predicts presence of US and learning results in increased CR -Negative- CS predicts absence of US and learning results in decreased CR
96
What is a summation test?
Adding an inhibitory CS to an excitatory CS reduces response
97
What is a retardation test?
Animals are slower to learn a CS with a negative association
98
What is the difference between instrumental and classical learning?
-Classical- learning associations between stimuli to predict events -Instrumental- learning associations between behaviors and their outcomes to maximize reinforcement
Year 3 Semester 1
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